Andy Warhol Summer Different Here

The Andy Warhol Museum is running a controversial advertising cmpaign, under the banner “Summer’s Different Here,” showcasing three non-traditional artists debuting their work in Pittsburgh. The print and digital ads feature ordinary images of summertime retooled to challenge perceptions of the ordinary with a bold pop-art styled headline that says “Summer’s Different Here.” The three summer exhibitions feature artists outside the mainstream whose work pushes the viewer to see the world through different lenses. The artists include musician and visual artist Genesis Breyer P-Orridge, photographer Caldwell Linker and sculptor/tattoo artist Nick Bubash. The images include a beach ball as a gag in a woman’s mouth, flip-flops with barbed wire bands, a hot dog bun filled with worms covered in mustard, a close-up of a shish kabob that pierces a nipple, a woman on a lounge chair made of nails and a man in a Speedo filled with firecrackers.

“In looking at what unites all these very different artists, we quickly understood that their works are meant to provoke and make you uncomfortable,” said MARC USA Creative Director Josh Blasingame. “Our campaign to promote these exhibitions built on that idea by looking at ordinary icons of summer and showing how they could be made more than a little uncomfortable.”

Digital boards at the Pittsburgh International Airport as well as outdoor installations throughout the city of Pittsburgh as well as other cities in the region will run through September. The ads will also run in local publications and online and will be distributed throughout the city as actual post cards that can be mailed.

MARC USA has been working with The Warhol for the past year to increase awareness of the museum and its exhibitions. MARC USA President and CEO Michele Fabrizi is Chairman of the Board of The Warhol.

Credits

The Summer’s Different campaign was developed at MARC USA, Pittsburgh, by chief creative officer Bryan Hadlock, creative director/art director Josh Blasingame, associate creative director/copywriter Greg Edwards, associate creative director/art director Craig Ferrence, copywriter Alyssa Davis, art directors Tyler Bergholz and Dave Slinchak, photographer Russ Quackenbush and retoucher Chris Bodie.